Copper has finally made its much-anticipated assault on the $10,000-a-metric-ton level, marking a new all-time high for the metal.

But while it was a foregone conclusion the red metal would become a five-digit number at some stage, market participants are far less confident about predicting where the market goes from here.

Market bulls explain the rise in two ways: demand from China and the prospect of a growing shortage of supply. Yet the Chinese have turned sellers and the promised deficit is showing signs of turning out to be a surplus.

Chinese investors, many of whom bought and stockpiled copper as the price rose, appear to have given up the game because the metal is no longer cheap and money is no longer easy. Material is now far more available than before, and is changing hands among merchants in Shanghai and South Korea at a much faster pace…